History

The Orient was governed by Salutius with the rank of prefect, Italy with Africa and Illyricum by Mamertinus, and the Gallic provinces by Germanianus.

Living therefore in the cities named, the emperors for the first time assumed the consular robes; and this whole year brought heavy losses to the Roman state.

For the Alamanni broke through the frontiers of Germany, being unusually hostile for the following reason: when their envoys had been sent to the headquarters, in order as usual to receive the regular appointed gifts, smaller and cheaper ones were given them, which they received with indignation and threw away as unworthy of them. And being roughly treated by Ursatius, who was then court-marshal, a hot-tempered and cruel man, they returned home, and exaggerating what had happened, aroused the savage peoples, on the ground that they had been grievously insulted.

And about that time, or not much later, in the Orient Procopius had started a revolution. This and the Alamannic revolt were reported to Valentinian on one and the same day about the first of November as he was on his way to Paris.

Then Valentinian ordered Dagalaifus to go in haste to meet the Alamanni, who after devastating places near the frontier had withdrawn to a distance without the loss of a man. But as to checking the attempt of Procopius before it became ripe, he was distracted by doubt and anxiety, being especially troubled because he did not know whether Valens was alive or whether his death had led Procopius to aspire to the throne.

For Aequitius knew of the matter only from the report of the tribune Antonius, who commanded the soldiers in central Dacia and gave a vague account of the affair from that which he himself had heard; and Aequitius himself had not yet heard anything trustworthy, and so merely reported the circumstance to the emperor in simple words.

Upon hearing the news, Valentinian, after raising the said Aequitius to the rank of a commander-in- chief, decided to go back to Illyricum, lest the rebel after rushing through Thrace and being already formidable should invade Pannonia with a hostile army. For he was greatly alarmed by a recent example, recalling that Julian a short time before, making light of an emperor who had been victor in all civil wars, contrary to all hope and expectation had passed with incredible speed from city to city.

But his eager longing to return was modified by the advice of his confidential friends, who advised, nay begged him, not to give up Gaul to the savages who threatened destruction, and not under that pretext to abandon provinces which needed strong support. These were supported by deputations from famous cities, who begged that he should not leave unprotected in such hard and doubtful times cities which by his presence he could save from the greatest dangers, since the glory of his name would strike fear into the Germans.

At last, after giving careful thought to what was expedient, he followed the view of the majority, often repeating that Procopius was only his own and his brother’s enemy, but the Alamanni were enemies of the whole Roman world; and so he resolved for the present nowhere to leave the boundaries of Gaul.

And having returned as far as Rheims, and feeling anxious about Africa, for fear that it might suddenly be invaded, he decided that Neoterius, afterwards consul but at that time a secretary, should go to protect that province, and also Masaucio, an officer of the household troops, bearing in mind that, having had long training there under his father, the former Count Cretio, he knew all the suspected places; and he joined with them Gaudentius, an officer of the targeteers, a loyal man who long had been known to him.

Because, then, at one and the same time lamentable storms arose on both sides, we shall set down the single events in their proper place, first giving an account of a part of what took place in the Orient, then of the wars with the savages: since most of the events both in the west and in the east took place in the same months; for I fear that by hastening to return from one place to another by leaps and bounds we might confuse everything and involve the course of events in the deepest darkness.

Procopius was born in Cilicia of a distinguished family and correspondingly educated, and for the reason that he was related to Julian, who was afterwards emperor, he was conspicuous from his first entry into a public position; and as he was somewhat strict in his life and character, although retiring and silent, he served for a long time with distinction as state-secretary and tribune, and already had prospects of attaining the highest positions. But when after the death of Constantius he became through the change in the situation a relative of the emperor, he aimed higher and entered the order of counts; and it was evident that, if ever he had the opportunity, he would be a disturber of the public peace.

When Julian invaded Persia, he left Procopius in Mesopotamia, in association with Sebastianus, who was given the same rank, with a strong force of soldiers, and ordered him (as rumour darkly whispered, for no one vouched for the truth of the report) to act in accordance with the conditions that arose, and if he learned that the Roman power in Persia was weakened, to take measures quickly to have himself named emperor.

Procopius followed these directions with moderation and prudence, but when he learned that Julian had been mortally wounded and died, and that Jovian had been raised to the rule of the empire, and that the false report was circulated that Julian had with the last breath of his failing life declared that it was his wish that Procopius should be entrusted with the helm of the state, he feared that on that account he might be put to death without a trial. Accordingly, he withdrew from public sight; and he was in special fear after the death of Jovianus, the chief of all the secretaries, because he had learned that after Julian’s death Jovianus had been named by a few soldiers as worthy of imperial power, and that from that time on he had been suspected of rebellious designs and had suffered a cruel death.

And because Procopius had learned that he was being tracked with extreme care, in order to avoid the weight of greater hatred he retreated to still more remote and secret places. Then hearing that Jovianus was diligently hunting for his hiding-places, and being already thoroughly wearied of living the life of a wild beast—for being cast down from a lofty station to a lower condition and confined to desert places, he actually suffered from hunger and was deprived of intercourse with mankind—under the compulsion of extreme necessity he came by round-about ways to the vicinity of Chalcedon.

There, since it seemed to him a safe refuge, he hid himself with the most loyal of his friends, a certain Strategius, a soldier of the court guards who rose to be a senator, often going as secretly as possible to Constantinople, as was afterwards known from the testimony of that same Strategius when frequent investigations were held of the accomplices in the cabal.

And so, after the fashion of some clever spy, being unrecognizable because of his unkempt appearance and his leanness, he gathered the gossip, which was then becoming frequent, of many who, since men are always discontented with present conditions, were finding fault with Valens, as being inflamed with a desire of seizing the property of others.

To the emperor’s cruelty deadly incentive was given by his father-in- law Petronius, who from the command of the Martensian legion had by a sudden jump been promoted to the rank of patrician. He was a man ugly in spirit and in appearance, who, burning with an immoderate longing to strip everyone without distinction, condemned guilty and innocent alike, after exquisite tortures, to fourfold indemnities, looking up debts going back to the time of the emperor Aurelian, and grieving excessively if he was obliged to let any one escape unscathed.

Along with his intolerable character he had this additional incentive to his devastations, that while he was enriching himself through the woes of others, he was inexorable, cruel, savage and fearlessly hardhearted, never capable of giving or receiving reason, more hated than Cleander, who, as we read, when prefect under the emperor Commodus, in his haughty madness had ruined the fortunes of many men; more oppressive than Plautianus, also a prefect under Severus, who with superhuman arrogance would have caused general confusion, if he had not perished by the avenging sword.

These lamentable occurrences, which under Valens, aided and abetted by Petronius, closed the houses of the poor and the palaces of the rich in great numbers, added to the fear of a still more dreadful future, sank deeply into the minds of the provincials and of the soldiers, who groaned under similar oppression, and with universal sighs everyone prayed (although darkly and in silence) for a change in the present condition of affairs with the help of the supreme deity.

All this Procopius observed from his hiding- place, and thinking that when a more favourable turn of fortune should occur, the crown of supreme power could be gained with little trouble, he lay in wait like a beast of prey, ready to leap forth at once on seeing anything which he could seize.

And while he was burning with impatience to hasten his designs, fate offered him this most timely opportunity. For Valens at the end of winter hastened to Syria and had already crossed the frontier of Bithynia, when he learned from the reports of his generals that the Gothic tribes, at that time unassailed and therefore very savage, were conspiring together and making preparations to invade the Thracian provinces. On learning this, in order that he himself might reach his destination without hindrance, Valens ordered a sufficient reinforcement of cavalry and infantry to be sent to the places where inroads of the savages were feared.

And so, since the emperor was removed to a distance, Procopius, worn out by long-continued troubles, and thinking that even a cruel death would be more merciful than the evils by which he was tormented, hazarded at one cast all perils whatsoever; and without fear now of suffering the worst, led by a desperate resolve he essayed the bold deed of hastening to tempt the legions of Divitenses and the Younger Tungricani, who had been ordered with other troops to hasten to the urgent service in Thrace, and as usual were to remain for two days in Constantinople. This he did by hastening to appeal to certain acquaintances that he had among those same troops; but because it would be dangerous and difficult to speak with all, he confided in only a few.

These men, enticed by the hope of great rewards, promised under the sanctity of an oath that they would do everything that he wished, guaranteeing also the favour of their comrades, with whom they held an important place in giving advice, since they were the highest paid and the most deserving.

So, as had been agreed, as soon as the sun’s rays illumined the day, the aforesaid Procopius, full of conflicting emotions, went to the Anastasian Baths, named for the sister of Constantine, where he knew that the legions had their quarters. There he learned from the confidants of his secrets that their whole number in a meeting by night had united in his support. Then, after a pledge of safety was willingly given him, he was received by the throng of venal soldiers and treated indeed with honour, although he seemed in a way to be held as a prisoner; for just as once before, after the death of Pertinax, the praetorians took up Julianus, when he was a bidder for the imperial power, so now also these troops, with an eye to every possible gain, defended Procopius, as he plotted to enter upon his ill-starred rule.

So there he stood rather wasted (you would think that he had come up from the lower world), and because a purple robe could nowhere be found, he was dressed in a gold-embroidered tunic, like an attendant at court, but from foot to waist he looked like a page in the service of the palace ; he wore purple shoes on his feet, and bore a lance, and a small piece of purple cloth in his left hand; just as sometimes on the stage you might think that a splendidly decorated figure was suddenly made to appear as the curtain was raised, or through some mimic deception.

Raised in a laughable manner to this dishonour of all honours, he ad- dressed his supporters with servile flattery, and promised them ample riches and dignities as the first-fruits of his principate. Then he appeared in public, surrounded by a number of armed men, and now advancing with more confidence and with upraised standards, attended with a fearful din of shields mournfully clashing together, which the soldiers from fear of his being pelted from housetops with stones or pieces of tile held closely joined together over the very crests of their helmets.

And as he advanced more boldly, the people neither opposed nor favoured him; nevertheless, they were aroused by the sudden charm of novelty which is inborn in most of the commons, and they were still more strongly moved because they one and all (as we have already said) hated Petronius, who was enriching himself by violence, and was reviving transactions that were long since buried, and debts of the misty past brought up again against all classes.

Accordingly, when the said Procopius had mounted the tribunal, and all were filled with amazement, fearing the gloomy silence, and believing (as indeed he had expected) that he had merely come to a steeper road to death, since a trembling which pervaded all his limbs hindered his speaking, he stood for a long time without a word. Finally, he beganwith broken and dying utterance to say a little, justifying his action by his relationship with the imperial family; then at first by the low whispers of a few, who had been hired for the purpose, later by the tumultuous acclamations of the people, he was hailed as emperor in disorderly fashion, and hastily went on to the Senate House. There finding none of the distinguished senators, but only a few persons of low rank, with rapid steps he hastened to the palace and entered it with ill-omened step.

Certainly some may wonder that so laughable a reign, rashly and blindly begun, broke out into such lamentable disasters to the state, if perchance they are unacquainted with previous instances, and think that this happened for the first time.

It was thus that Andriscus of Adramytium, a man born to the lowest condition, raised himself to the title of a Pseudophilippus and added to the Macedonian wars a third, full of danger. It was thus, when the emperor Macrinus was living at Antioch, that Heliogabalus Antoninus burst forth from Emesa. Thus, by the unexpected uprising of Maximinus, Alexander was murdered with his mother Mamaea. Thus in Africa the elder Gordian was hurried to the throne, but when he found himself entangled in the terror of coming dangers, ended his life with the noose.

Thus the dealers in cheap dainties, the palace attendants, or those who had once been such, and former soldiers who had now retired to a more peaceful mode of life, a part unwillingly, others voluntarily, were induced to participate in the uncertainties of this unusual enterprise. But some, thinking that anything was safer than the present condition, secretly left the city and went at rapid pace to the emperor’s camp.

All these were outstripped by the swift course of Sophronias, at that time a secretary and later city-prefect in Constantinople. He met Valens just as he was on the point of leaving Caesarea in Cappadocia, in order to go to his residence at Antioch, since the oppressive heat in Cilicia was already somewhat diminished, and after telling him what had happened, induced him, discouraged by this event and amazed, as was natural at such a crisis, to go to Galatia, in order to take hold of affairs while they were still unsettled.

While Valens was hastening on by forced marches, Procopius with strictest attention was busy day and night, and brought forward certain emissaries, who with crafty assurance pretended that they had come, some from the Orient, others from Gaul, and falsely announced that Valentinian was dead and that everything was open to the new and beloved emperor.

And because attempts at revolution, even though audaciously begun, are sometimes wont to be strengthened by quick action, accordingly, that nothing might be neglected which could arouse fear, Nebridius, recently promoted to be praetorian prefect in place of Salutius by the party of Petronius, and Caesarius, prefect of the city of Constantinople, were thrown into chains. Phronimius was ordered to take charge of the city with the usual powers, and Euphrasius was made chief-marshal of the court; both were Gauls, distinguished for their training in the noble arts. The direction of military affairs was entrusted to Gomoarius and Agilo, who were recalled to service —being an unwise appointment, as the result of their treachery revealed.

Therefore because it was feared that Count Julius, who commanded the military forces in Thrace, if he should hear of the attempt, would march from the neighbouring posts to crush the rebels, an effective plan was devised. For a letter was extorted by violence from Nebridius, who was still in prison, in which it was pretended that by Valens’ order Julius was to discuss serious measures relating to the disturbances among the barbarians; and so he was summonedto Constantinople and there held in strict confinement. Through this clever trick the warlike nations of Thrace were now won over without bloodshed, and this powerful support was gained by the rebellious venture.

After this had been effected with such happy success, Araxius by soliciting the favour of the court became praetorian prefect, under pretext that he was supported by his son-in-law Agilo; and many others were employed in various services at court or in administrative posts in the provinces, some against their will, others because they offered themselves and paid for the positions.

And as commonly happens in times of civil strife, some rose from the dregs of the people, led by desperation or by blind ambitions, while on the other hand some men of distinguished origin fell from their high estate even to death and exile.

When through these and like conditions the party seemed firmly established, it remained to muster a sufficient force of soldiers, and a thing which in public disturbances has often times hampered bold enterprises even when their origin was justified, was managed with ease.

For some divisions of cavalry and infantry which had been raised for the campaign in Thrace passed that way; they were received courteously and generously, and when they were all united in one body, there was already the appearance of an army. Eager for the riches that were promised, they swore allegiance to Procopius with dire penalties for disloyalty, promising to stand by him and protect him with their lives.

There was found, besides, a very favourable means of winning them over, namely, that Procopius took in his arms the little daughter of Constantius, whose memory they honoured, and carried her about, claiming kinship with the former emperor. And he gained another timely advantage in that Faustina, the girl’s mother, happened to be present when he had received some insignia forming a part of the imperial adornment.

Also he added another stroke which was to be hastened with swift energy; for certain men chosen for their foolhardy daring were sent to take possession of Illyricum; these set out relying on no other aid than their impudence, using for their purpose goldpieces bearing the image of the new emperor and trying other devices for enticement; but Aequitius, the military commander in those regions, seized them and put them to death in various ways.

Then, through fear of similar attempts, Aequitius blockaded the three narrow passes leading to the northern provinces, one through Dacia Ripensis, a second, the best known, through Succi, the third through Macedonia, and called Acontisma. And in consequence of these prudent measures, the usurper of illegitimate power was disappointed in his vain hope of seizing Illyricum and lost a great source of material for the war.

While these things were thus going on, Valens, shocked by the terrible news and already returning through Galatia, on hearing what had happened at Constantinople advanced with distrust and fear. His sudden terror made him unfit for all ways of precaution, and his spirit had sunk so low that he even thought of casting aside his imperial robes as a heavy burden; and he would actually have done so, had he not been kept by the remonstrances of his intimates from the shameful intention and given courage by the advice of better men; accordingly, he ordered two legions, named the Jovii and the Victores, to go on ahead and attack the rebels in their camp.

When these were already approaching, Procopius himself, having returned from Nicaea, to which place he had gone shortly before, with the Divitenses and a promiscuous rabble of deserters which he had got together in a brief space of time, hastened to Mygdus, a place laved by the river Sangarius.

There the legions were already advancing upon each other, ready for battle, when Procopius rushed alone between them, while they were exchanging volleys, as if he wished to challenge the enemy. And by a stroke of good fortune as if he recognised in the enemy’s lines a certain Vitalianus—whether he actually knew him is a matter of doubt—he saluted him courteously in Latin, and called him forward in a friendly fashion. Then he held out his hand to him and kissed him, to the amazement of all on both sides, and cried out:

So this is the old loyalty of Roman armies and their oaths bound by firm religious rites! Is this your pleasure, my brave men? All this mass of Roman swords uplifted for strangers! That a base Pannonian should shake and trample upon the world, to gain a throne which he never so much as dared to pray for, we groan over your wounds and ours! No, no—follow rather the house of your own royal line, one who has taken up arms with the greatest justice, not in order to seize what is another’s, but to restore himself to the possession of his ancestral majesty.

Through these calm words, all the men who had come to fight hotly against him were pacified, and willingly went over to his side with the eagles and the tips of their standards lowered; and in place of terrible shouts that the barbarians call barritus he was hailed as emperor; all crowded about him in the customary manner, and in harmony escorted him back to the camp, swearing, in the soldiers’ manner, by Jupiter that Procopius would be invincible.